MARITIME COMMUNITY

After leaving home for a new turn onboard, the time passes very fast in the beginning. The period of work is 3 months and it sound like a lot and to most it is. Comparing with sailing periods of the past this is a rather short time. It wasn’t long ago when the sailing period was a minimum of 6 months before you had a paid airfare home from anywhere in the world. It was not uncommon for people to stay onboard for a year or more. This was especially true for young men. It was a great way to save money before continue school.

A lot of changes in the various elements of operating a ship has made different. There are a multitude of factors involved and the stress level has gone up a lot. Regulations has been added and changed, technology has progressed and made it possible to reduce crew onboard but it has also made it more stressful for those that are onboard. Security issues around the world has changed and made it harder accessing a support network that used to be available on short notice, just a phone call away. Ship crews used to be able to move around fairly freely while in port. They could have a few hours off the ship and get away from the stress.

Today’s sailing time of 3 months is still a long time in today’s standard. After it’s completed and you are on the way back home things are looking up.